Circus Sarasota offers some tricks for Summer Spectacular showcase

Circus fans have a new way to mix history and thrills of live performance at the Ringling Museum of Art.

Master Trick Roper and bull-whip artist Texas Jack Fulbright performs in Circus Sarasota’s 2013 Summer Circus Spectacular at the Historic Asolo Theater. PHOTO PROVIDED BY CIRCUS SARASOTA

During the annual run of Circus Sarasota’s Summer Circus Spectacular in the Historic Asolo Theater (June 18-Aug. 3), the Ringling Museum is offering a $5 admission to audiences who also visit the Circus Museum and its large collection of memorabilia.

 

 

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The Patterson Foundation Launches Legacy of Valor Campaign

Yearlong campaign honors veterans through community partnerships leading up to the spring 2014 dedication of Patriot Plaza

SARASOTA, Fla. (April 5, 2013) – The Patterson Foundation kicked off its Legacy of Valor campaign today, highlighting 17 community-driven partnerships that honor veterans and their families, inspire patriotism and embrace freedom.

The Legacy of Valor campaign is an extension of The Patterson Foundation’s first-of-its-kind partnership with the National Cemetery Administration to construct Patriot Plaza, a ceremonial amphitheater at Sarasota National Cemetery. The yearlong series of Legacy of Valor partnership events – which include a variety of experiences from luncheons and exhibits honoring veterans to themed street art and film festivals– begin this month and culminate during the spring 2014 dedication of Patriot Plaza.

“The Legacy of Valor campaign honors and salutes veterans and their families for the sacrifices they make in order to secure our freedom,” said Debra Jacobs, president and CEO of The Patterson Foundation. “The enthusiastic response we received from community partners was overwhelming, and we hope every person in our community can find opportunities to participate through their time, talent and treasure.”

Through Legacy of Valor partnerships, community entities are collaborating with each other to create and build upon existing activities and events to educate, build enthusiasm and focus the community to honor and support veterans and their families. The Legacy of Valor community partnerships touch many aspects of our community, including arts performances for veterans and their families, educational programs to teach community youth about our nation’s history and the contributions of veterans, and services such as providing needed home repairs for veterans.

To enhance these collaborations, The Patterson Foundation is investing up to $1 million in the Legacy of Valor campaign.

“It is so special to see such support and a spirit of collaboration in our community honoring those who have done so much for our country,” Jacobs said. “Our goal through the Legacy of Valor campaign is to encourage our community to use Patriot Plaza following its dedication to continue to honor veterans for generations to come.”

To learn more about the Legacy of Valor campaign and Patriot Plaza at Sarasota National Cemetery, please visit patriotplaza.thepattersonfoundation.org.

About The Patterson Foundation The Patterson Foundation believes that through communications, technology, and financial innovations, improvements may be achieved that transcend any single issue, entity, or geographic area. The Foundation provides resources to facilitate, expedite, and share methods, techniques, and tools, joining with others in creating new realities. For more information, please visit www.ThePattersonFoundation.org.

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Circus Sarasota & Jersey Mike’s Subs Team Up for Month of Giving in March

“Day of Giving” March 27

TAMPA, Fla., Feb. 21, 2013 – Circus Sarasota, & the Sailor Circus Program are joining forces with local Jersey Mike’s Subs restaurants throughout Sarasota for the 3rd Annual March “Month of Giving” fundraising campaign. The campaign will culminate in the nationwide event, Jersey Mike’s “Day of Giving” on Wednesday, March 27.

During the month of March, customers can make a donation to Circus Sarasota, & the Sailor Circus Program at any area Jersey Mike’s restaurant. Then on Wed March 27, a special nationwide celebration, “Day of Giving,” will take place at all Sarasota Jersey Mike’s locations to benefit 86 different charities including hospitals, youth organizations, food banks and more.

On that day, area residents are invited to come in to a local Jersey Mike’s restaurant and enjoy a delicious sub meal. All area Jersey Mike’s restaurants will donate 100 percent of the day’s sales to Circus Sarasota’s youth training program, The Sailor Circus. For more information on our charity partners, please visit www.jerseymikes.com/mog.

Circus Sarasota’s youth training program: The Sailor Circus

“The Sailor Circus of Sarasota, Florida is thrilled to be chosen by Jersey Mike’s Subs for the Month of Giving,” said Joan Leonard, Administrative Director, of the Sailor Circus Program. With this partnership we are able to continue serving the youth of Sarasota by providing a safe environment to learn life skills through the exciting tradition of the circus arts. The Month of Giving allows us to provide our program to students whose parents cannot afford after school specialty programs. Together with Jersey Mike’s we are able to teach our students the importance of community and giving back to the community that one lives in.”

Participating Sarasota Jersey Mike’s Restaurants:

  • 3820 S. Tuttle Ave, Sarasota
  • 8210 Tourist Center Drive, University Park

Last year’s Month of Giving campaign raised nearly $858,000 for 74 different charities nationwide. Since 2010, Jersey
Mike’s locations throughout the country have raised more than $5 million for worthy local charities and distributed
more than 500,000 free sub sandwiches to help numerous causes.

“I would like to extend a personal invitation to come in and enjoy a Jersey Mike’s sub during our Month of Giving in
support of one of your local charities,” said Peter Cancro, Jersey Mike’s founder and CEO, who started the company
when he was only 17 years old. “The opportunities to give are all around us so we hope this March you will join us to
make a difference in someone’s life.”

For more information about Jersey Mike’s Subs Month of Giving please visit: http://www.jerseymikes.com.

About Jersey Mike’s
Jersey Mike’s, a fast-casual sub sandwich franchise with more than 750 locations open and under development
nationwide, has a long history of community involvement and support. Started at the Jersey Shore in 1956, Jersey
Mike’s serves authentic East Coast-style subs on fresh baked bread – the same recipe it started with over 50 years ago.
The company’s mission is to bring its customers the highest quality, freshest made sub in the industry and give back
to the communities in which it operates. A store locator and franchise information for Jersey Mike’s can be found at
www.jerseymikes.com.

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Let’s Run Away to the Circus!

When asked if I wanted to take a trapeze class while on a girls getaway to Sarasota Florida, without hesitation or really even much thought, I exclaimed “Yes!” What could be more fun than flying through the air, ideally with grace and strength? I recruited my friends Dawn and Robin (my adventurous partners in crime: see What Happens in Vegas…). Circus Sarasota offers a few different circus-type classes, and we were quick to sign up.

First, we took the Aerial Gym class. The description read that hoops are used, suspended about two or three feet off the ground. We thought the class sounded fun – we just didn’t realize how hard it would be! The five us in the class used the steel hoops as support in various Pilates- and yoga-type moves – plank, bridge, even downward facing dog. The most fun, though, was when we balanced our chests on the hoops, used our arms for leverage and swung, swan-like (maybe?!), through the air. My favorite move of the class, though, was (Wo)Man in the Moon – we balanced on our thin steel hoops, bending and shaping our bodies until we conformed to the hoop’s curve. In the pose, I felt graceful and limber – all I needed was a sparkly outfit and I would’ve been set!

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Circus Sarasota takes the show to assisted living facilities

SARASOTA – Circus Sarasota is now nearing the end of their winter program, with their final show this Friday night. But even after the tent goes dark, the show goes on, because those performances are only the tip of the iceberg.

Circus Sarasota continues its service to the community all year long, and that includes their outreach program “Laughter Unlimited.” Five days a week, specially trained clowns and other Circus Sarasota performers go into nursing homes, assisted living homes, and facilities that serve people with disabilities.

There, they not only make the residents laugh, but they inspire them to use their abilities and their talents to the maximum.

The Laughter Unlimited team got a royal welcome at the United Cerebral Palsy Center in Bradenton this week. “We don’t just come in and put on a show and present a performance, our clients are vested in the program because we trust them and they trust us,” says performer Chuck Sidlow.

Laughter Unlimited visits there twice a month. This is one of their many stops. Every week, they hit two facilities a day, spreading joy and teaching life skills, like better communication. “Most of the Laughter Unlimited programs are dealing in the senior community with Alzheimer dementia independent living, as well as assisted living for our aging folks. First the hearing goes, then the speech, so communication is very, very important.”

Clients don’t just sit back and watch, they’re a part of the show. They sing, they make music, they perform circus tricks. They’ve been to see Circus Sarasota, and they pretend to be Nik Wallenda.

You can see the applause they get means a lot to them. “Our wonderful friends here at UCP get a wonderful sense of accomplishment and a sense of empowerment,” says performer Billy Bob.

The staff at UCP says Laughter Unlimited makes a major difference in the lives they touch there. “Their main focus is to help the individual find their talent and their desires and use that to develop a sense of humor and just have a great time,” says Gail Lesko.

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Clowns helping teach science in Suncoast schools

SARASOTA, Fla. – How do we get Suncoast students to score better on the FCATs and to retain what they learn about difficult subjects? That’s a question educators grapple with every day. And now an answer has come from a very unexpected source: clowns.

Circus Sarasota clowns Karen Bell and Robin Eurich teach science to Susan Aubel’s 5th graders once a week. She says they take difficult, abstract scientific concepts — kinetic energy, potential energy, balance, force, friction, accreditation — and use hands-on experiments to show students how the concepts work in circus tricks.

Then the students do a test to prove that the principles they’ve been taught by the clowns really work.

The clowns may look funny, but they have advanced degrees and are specially trained to teach science in accordance to state and FCAT standards, and they must stick to the teacher’s lesson plan.

But they have unique circus teaching tools at their disposal. “We’ve got in the circus the teeter board act, the trapeze and juggling, and the human cannonball…we have all these wonderful vehicles for explaining the principles of physics in a way that children can remember,” says Eurich.

5th grader Veronica Bekhit will vouch for that. “We’re learning force and gravity…we’re having fun at the same time and we start remembering it when we take the test.”

And test results back her up. “The pre-test – the knowledge the kids have — is 53%. The post-test was 97% knowledge base; so a pretty big significant difference,” says Bell.

The egg trick helps 5th grader Brandon Radu remember his physics lesson. “Friction and the potential energy that the egg has when it drops into the cup.”

As Susan Aubel watches the delight on the faces of her students as they see science in action, she says she’s so glad she brought the two clowns into her classroom. “It was just a perfect fit, because it’s like taking the magic out of the circus and putting it into physicals and making it alive and real.”

The Big Top Education Clowns go into elementary and middle schools in Sarasota and Manatee counties to teach science and language arts. It’s part of Circus Sarasota’s Community Outreach Program.

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Hero’s Welcome Planned For Nik Wallenda…The Man Who Walked Into History

THE PUBLIC IS INVITED

Sarasota, Florida; October 15, 2012 — Nik Wallenda, illustrious high-wire artist and Sarasota’s hometown superstar, will be given a hero’s welcome when he steps-off a JetBlue flight at the Sarasota/Bradenton International Airport on Friday morning, October 19th at 10:45 AM. The public is invited to the airport to welcome Wallenda as he returns to Sarasota for the first time since his amazing walk on a silver strand suspended above the precipice of Niagara Falls earlier this summer. The airport celebration will include a Welcome by Sarasota Mayor Suzanne Atwell, a Proclamation from Sarasota County Commission Chair Christine Robinson and Sailor Circus youth cheering their idol on! Pedro Reis, co-founder and CEO of Circus Sarasota, will also be at the airport to welcome his friend, and reveal that Wallenda will be starring in the 2013 edition of Circus Sarasota.

The welcome reception will take place in the Sarasota/Bradenton International Airport Lower Level adjacent to the waterfall between the departure/ticketing area and baggage claim. Free parking courtesy of the Sarasota/Bradenton International Airport has been arranged for those attending the event to celebrate the hometown hero’s arrival to Sarasota!

“Over the weeks leading up to his walk above The Falls, Nik Wallenda shared the spotlight with his hometown; and the world took note,” comments Pedro Reis. Following the Niagara Falls feat, Nik and his family have been on-the-road throughout the summer performing in such venues as the Tropicana Resort in Atlantic City. Reis concludes, “When we welcome him home to Sarasota, we are letting Nik know how proud he has made us, and how proud we are of him! I hope that we will have a huge and enthusiastic crowd to meet Nik at the airport this Friday morning.”

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2012 Circus Sarasota Winter Performance of Bello Mania Sarasota Magazine Review

http://www.sarasotamagazine.com/Blogs/On-Stage/Circus-Sarasota-2012.aspx

 

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